Paper crafting with a little shine

Monkeying Around!

Father’s Day was all about cards featuring one of my favorite critters — monkeys. My husband and I often refer to our kids as “our monkeys,” so it seemed fitting that his cards for this day would have cute, lovable monkeys! I used the “Monkeying Around” collection from Heartfelt Creations. The images, tags, papers and coordinating stamp and die sets with this collection are so cute! You can use them for all kinds of occasions — new baby, young child’s birthday, anyone of any age who loves monkeys, and even for scrapbooking a trip to the zoo.

I used the “Monkeying Around” Creative Essentials pack and the Palm Tree and Monkeys Stamp and Die sets to do these cards, and you can find those items here. For the main card pictured above, I used one of the 6×6 panels that Heartfelt Creations contains in all of their paper packs. I paired that with a few tags cut out from the same pack (Heartfelt Creations makes it pretty easy to just fussy cut these out and make a great card). Using two colors of jute twine, I wrapped the panel and tied a bow in the lower left corner of the card. I embellished the card with a button and pearls from 28 Lilac Lane Embellishment Bottle called “Just Peachy” that I bought from Paper Wishes. Using similar means, I also created this card:

For this final card, I dug in and used the stamps and dies to cut out the palm branches and the three monkeys swinging from vines. I simply stamped them using my MISTI (I love that tool!) on white cardstock, colored them with chalk inks and Spectrum Noir Markers, and then cut them out with the matching die set in my die cutting machine. Then, I used the Deluxe Flower Shaping Tool Set to shape both the monkeys and the palm branches. It was really quite easy and I liked the dimension it gave. I placed them all where I wanted them on the 6×6 panel and attached it all with the Dries Clear Glue. I finished off the card with a strip of borders and a sentiment from the paper pack, as well as a yellow ribbon tied in a knot. The finished product looked like this:

Adorable, isn’t it?

Did you celebrate Father’s Day? What did you do? What are your favorite critters to use in your crafting?